Tilt-up support tower

ABSTRACT

The support tower assembly of the disclosed invention includes an upper tower section and a tower base section pivotally joined together. The tower base section is also pivotally mounted. Both the upper tower section and the lower base section are readily pivoted selectively to be raised and lowered using a leveraged design cable systems and a small winch. A mounting base system is provided to support the tilt-up tower.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to elevating support structuresor towers. More particularly, the present invention is directed to apartially counter-balanced, multi-stage pivoting support tower assemblyfor supporting a conventional elevated operating device of interest,such as an electric power generating wind turbine, in which ease ofraising the tower and lowering the tower to service the device ofinterest are advantages.

II. Related Art

Support towers for electric power generating wind turbine devices, radiotransmitters, cellular phone relay stations, television antennaeequipment and other such elevated devices have been in use for manyyears. These towers usually are assembled from successive sectionsraised by derrick cranes or the like and bolted into place by workerswho have scaled the assembled portion. The device of interest isnormally fixed to a mast attached to the top section of the tower. Inorder to service or repair a wind turbine or other device carried by theupper-most section of the tower, service personnel must either climb thetower and work on the device in situ or disassemble the device from thetower and lower it to the ground for it to be accessible there.

Tilt-up tower constructions have also been proposed such as in U.S. Pat.No. 4,366,386. However, such towers do not have a multi-step tilt-upsystem with a leveraged construction which allows easy staged tiltingfor both placement and maintenance.

Given the above, it therefore would present a great advantage if such atower could be erected and lowered for service without the need forcranes or workers to climb the tower or relatively high powered winches.The present invention allows these operations to be carried out from theground and without the need for heavy equipment, only small, low-poweredwinch devices or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

By means of the present invention there is provided a collapsible,tilt-up and pivoting support tower assembly for supporting an elevateddevice of interest, such as an electric power generating wind turbine,which requires only a small, low-power operating winch to raise andlower the tower providing both ease of raising into place and loweringfor disassembly or servicing of associated equipment. The support towerassembly of the invention includes an upper tower section and a towerbase section pivotally joined together. In one embodiment, the assemblyis based on three-point support in which the tower base section is alsopivotally mounted on two legs and has a free leg to provide a thirdsupport point. Both the upper tower section and the tower base sectionare readily raised and lowered using separate cable systems and amechanized winch. A mounting base system is provided which includesthree spaced points of support for receiving the support legs for thebase section and includes a pair of spaced pivotal mounts and a fixedleg receiving mount spaced from the pivotal mounts and providing ananchor point for the third leg.

In one illustrative embodiment, the free leg of the pivoting tower basesection is a composite strut leg or strut support that includesconverging struts. It combines with a pair of base section pivotingsupport legs having free upper ends and lower ends designed to bereceived and pivotally attached to a pair of spaced pivotal shaft mountsusing openings in the lower ends thereof and pivot pins. An upper towersection is provided which is designed to attach to and pivot about amain pivot shaft connected with the free upper ends of the base section.The upper section support legs are pivotally mounted using bearings sothat the upper tower section is able to pivot between an upright raisedposition and a lowered service or assembly position. The upper towersection includes an extended aspect extending beyond the pivot assemblywhich compliments the tower base section and provides an extended leverarm for ease of pivoting the upper tower section.

A winching mechanism is provided for selectively pivoting the tower basesection and the upper tower section utilizing cables. Pulleys areprovided to selectively reduce the cable tension force needed to pivotthe upper tower section. Latching systems selectively fix the uppertower section to the tower base section and the free strut leg of thetower base section to the fixed mount to secure the tower in an uprightor fully raised position. These may be in the form of removable bolts.

In the fully upright position, the tower of this embodiment assumes aslightly truncated profile on the side described by the pivoting legs.This places the center of balance of the upper tower section slightlybeyond the pivot joints and thereby slightly biases the upper sectiontoward pivoting into a lowered position when it is not retained inplace. As indicated above, the upper tower section is normally latchedin place by being bolted to the tower base section. Cable tension isused to replace the latch bolt when it is desired to lower the uppertower section so that lowering is accomplished by using the winch toplay out cable. Thus, the cable system for the upper tower sectionshould be in place when the upper tower section is unlatched.

It should be noted that the number of base points of support or basesupport configuration may be varied so long as a stable system isprovided. A four-leg or four-point support embodiment along with anembodiment with a platform base are also illustrated in the detaileddescription.

An embodiment having an open-sided pivoting base tower section incombination with a pivoting boom or upper tower section is alsodescribed. The upper tower section pivots from the top of the lowertower section on spaced bearing assemblies and is leveraged by a tailsection which, when the upper tower section is raised, nests in the openside of the base tower section where the tail is fastened to the lowertower section. The lower tower section may be bolted to a platform. Theupper tower section is not truncated and is slightly biased to pivotdownward when it is released by mounting the bearing assemblies slightlyoff center with respect to the upper tower section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like partsthroughout the same:

FIG. 1 a is a perspective schematic elevational view of one embodimentof a truss-type support tower assembly constructed in accordance withthe invention shown in a fully deployed or elevated position;

FIG. 1 b is a side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 a;

FIG. 1 c is an enlarged fragmentary schematic detail of pivot mount fora support leg of a support tower assembly;

FIG. 1 d is an enlarged fragmentary schematic detail of a pivot assemblybetween an upper tower section and tower base section;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a mounting base layout suitable forthe support tower assembly of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b;

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of the support tower assembly of FIGS. 1 aand 1 b fully assembled and pivotally attached to a mounting base, butprior to being raised into an elevated position;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the support tower assembly of FIG.3 shown with the tower base section partially raised;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of the support tower assembly of FIG. 3with the tower base section in a fully upright disposition and the uppertower section slightly raised by a connected cable prior to being fullyraised or in a lowered position for service;

FIG. 6 a is an enlarged schematic representations of a winch/pulleysystem as in FIG. 4 for operating the pivot functions of the tower basesection shown with the tower base section in the fully raised positionas in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6 b is an enlarged schematic representation of a winch/pulleysystem for operating the pivot functions of the upper tower section asin FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective schematic elevational view of an alternateembodiment of a truss-type support tower assembly shown in the fullydeployed or elevated position;

FIGS. 8 a-8 f are schematic views that depict the stages of deploymentor erection of a support tower of another embodiment of the inventionwhich does not use a truss-type construction;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower portion of the basetower section at the stage of FIG. 8 c;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view that illustrates a method offixing the lower end of the upper tower section of the embodiment ofFIGS. 8 a-8 f to the base tower section with the support tower fullyraised;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing a tower pivot bearingarrangement; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged schematic top view of the base tower section nearthe pivot points showing the upper tower section position in section.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description is directed to one or more embodiments of theinventive concepts of the present invention and this material ispresented as being representative of these concepts but is not intendedto be interpreted as limiting with respect to any aspect of theinvention. In view of the above, the embodiments of the drawings will bedescribed. One embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 1 a-6 b andalternative embodiments are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 a-12.

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b illustrate in schematic form perspective and sideelevational views of an embodiment of a collapsible, tilt-up supporttower assembly shown in the fully deployed or elevated position. Thesupport tower assembly, generally denoted by the reference character 10,includes a lower tower section or tower base section 12 and an uppertower section 14. The upper tower section 14 carries a verticallydisposed mast 16 supported from and secured to a support member or towertube 18. Tower tube 18 and mounting post or mast 16 or other suchdevices are designed to carry an elevated operating device of interestsuch as a wind turbine power generating device, radio transmitter,cellular phone relay station, television antennae, or other elevatedequipment.

The tower base section 12 includes a pair of spaced pivotally mounteddiverging support legs 20 and 22 forming two points of support. A pairof strut members 23 and 24 are connected from the upper portions of thepair of spaced diverging pivotally mounted legs 20 and 22 and convergeto form a third point of support at 25. As will be described, the towerbase section support legs 20 and 22, together with third point ofsupport 25, provide an anchored, stable three-point support for thetower base section of the fully deployed tower. As best seen in the planview of FIG. 2, the three points of support are carried on a matchingtriangular base mounting system which includes respective mounting pads26, 27 and 28, which are preferably concrete pads or other stableanchored mounting devices and may form an equilateral triangle, thespacing being dependent upon the height and particular use of the tower.The lower ends of support legs 20 and 22 are mounted to pivot at pivotassemblies 30 and 32. Pivot assembly 30 is shown in the enlargedfragmentary view of FIG. 1 c. Support leg 20 is pivotally mountedbetween lugs 34 anchored in mounting pad 26 using a pivot pin or shaftas at 36. Pivot assembly 32 is of similar construction. The free ends ofconverging struts 23 and 24 at 25 are selectively fixed to mounting lugs40 anchored in mounting pad 27 as by a pin, bolt or shaft 42 insertedthrough openings therein when the base section 12 is in the erectedposition.

The upper tower section 14 is designed to compliment and interlock withtower base section 12 and is mounted to pivot about a pivot shaft 44 onpivot bearing 46 and 48, which are preferable conventional split pillowblock assemblies bolted together, as shown in the enlarged fragmentaryview of FIG. 1 d. The pivot shaft 44 is attached to the upper towersection 14. The lower halves or bases of pillow block bearing assemblies46 and 48 typically are fixed to the tops of legs 20 and 22 as bywelding. The pivot shaft 44 is preferably integral with the upper towersection 14. The pivot joints are secured by pillow block bearing capbolts 49.

The upper tower section is provided with an extended aspect whichincludes extended fixed leg 50 and lower converging strut members 52 and54. Strut members 52 and 54 connect to pivot shaft 44, which is, inturn, disposed to rotate inside of the bearings 46 and 48, and convergewith extended leg 50 into a mounting assembly 56 which may be a pair ofspaced flange plate members which includes provision to be selectivelybolted (i.e., removably fixed) to the tower base section at 57. Thepivoting function is accomplished with the assistance of a cable and apulley system as will be described. A rather small mechanized winch 58is used to raise both the tower base section 12 and the upper towersection 14. A fixed pulley is shown at 60.

The upper tower section 14 further includes a pair ofconverging/diverging upper leg members 62 and 64 which match andcommonly connect to and pivot shaft 44 with the struts 52 and 54 at thelower ends thereof inside of the aforementioned bearings 46 and 48. Theupper portions of leg members 62 and 64 converge with leg 50 to supporttower tube 18 at the upper ends thereof. Lateral bracing as at 66 andX-bracing as at 67, if desired, are used to strengthen the towerstructure as needed in both the base section 12 and upper tower section14.

It will be appreciated that the pivoting complimentary sectionalconstruction of the tilt-up support tower assembly of the inventionenables greatly facilitated vertical assembly of the structure andlowering for servicing of associated elevated operating devices mountedon the top of the support tower assembly mast. In this manner, theentire tower support structure and any electric wiring cable can beassembled on the ground prior to being raised into position in sections.Generally, the operating device (not shown) will be mounted on the towermast 16 and necessary electrical or other connections made when theupper tower section is partially raised as depicted in FIG. 5.

The tower erecting or raising assembly steps are illustrated in FIGS.3-5 of the drawings. FIG. 3 is a side schematic view of the structuralsupport tower of FIGS. 1 a and 1 b with the pivoting support legs 20 and22 of the tower base section 12 pivotally mounted to their correspondingmounting pads 26 and 28 using fixed lugs 32 and 34 with shafts orspindles 36 and 38 in a fully lowered position ready to be raised. Thecombination of strut members 23 and 24 at 25 is fastened to a strand ofbase raising cable 70, at connection point 72 when the tower basesection 12 is in the fully raised position. As shown enlarged in FIG. 6a, the cable 70 extends partially around pulley 60 to a winch mechanism58.

In accordance with the tower design of the invention, the raising of thesupport tower assembly structure is a two-step process devised to reduceboth the stress on the tower structure itself and the force required tooperate associated raising and control cables. As shown in FIG. 3, thetower support structure is assembled together on the ground ready to beraised. The separate cable system for raising the upper tower sectionhas been removed for clarity.

The raising process for the support tower assembly begins with theassembled structure in its fully lowered position with the pivoting legs20 and 22 attached to the base. The bolt or the fastening device at 57that connects the upper tower section 14 with the tower base section 12is removed to allow the two sections to pivot independently and freelyrelative to each other about shaft 44. A base cable 70 is attached to beoperated by winch 58 under pulley 60 and at an attachment point 72 onthe base section 12 as depicted in FIG. 6 a. The winch 58 is operated toreel in the cable and raise the base section as shown in FIGS. 4 untilthe base reaches its raised position as shown in FIG. 5. Once the basesection is raised to an upright posture, the combined struts at 25 aresecured in lugs 40 as by a pin or shaft or bolt 42. The cable 70 canthen be disconnected and removed.

As depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 b, a separate cable and pulley system isemployed to operate (raise and lower) the upper tower section 14. Theillustrated system includes an upper pulley 80 attached to mountingassembly 56 and base pulley 60. The pulleys are strung with cable 82,thereby creating a three-strand pulley system giving winch 58 additionalmechanical advantage. Of course, the number of upper and lower pulleysand thus the number of cable strands, may be selectively varied inaccordance with the force required to operate the upper tower sectionand the power of the winch used. The elevated pivot location at shaft 44also helps to reduce the force needed to raise the upper tower sectionas the leverage for raising that structure is greatly enhanced by thecreation of a long lever arm while, at the same time, the distance fromthe pivot location to the top of the tower is shortened. Once the uppertower section is raised, the mounting assembly 56 is re-secured to thetower base section 12 using a pin as at 57. With the upper tower sectionpartially raised, as shown in FIG. 5, but with the mast 16 stillrelatively close to the ground, the operating device of interest (notshown) can readily be mounted on the mast and/or serviced with the uppertower section lowered to that position. This position is stabilized bythe tension in the cable 82.

Thus, an important aspect of the present invention involves theleveraged pivot mounting and design of the upper tower section usingpivot shaft 44 between sections 12 and 14 which combines with thetilt-up base to allow a rather easy two-step, tilt-up erection process.In this manner, a rather large support tower assembly can be raised andlowered for service or moving by using only a small power winch andpulley system and without the need for a crane or other piece of heavyequipment on site.

As can be seen best in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, the configuration of legs 20,22, 62 and 64 in the fully upright position of the tower is slightlytruncated at the pivot points. This produces a slightly off-centerbalance point in the tower with reference to the pivot joints so thatthe upper tower section has a modest tendency to tilt toward the loweredposition such that, when the member securing the upper tower section tothe tower base section locking the upper tower section in place isremoved, it produces tension in cable 82. This configuration enables thecontrolled lowering of the upper tower section to be accomplished bysimply playing out cable which is kept under tension after the removalof the securing member, pin 57. This eliminates the need for a separatedevice to initiate the pivoting of the upper tower section when it isdesired for that section to be lowered. In this manner, a small winch orsimilar device readily accomplishes both the raising and lowering of thecollapsible, tilt-up support tower assembly of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the support tower assembly,generally 110, including tower base section 112 and upper tower section114 carrying vertically disposed mast 116 supported by tower tube 118.This embodiment is quite similar to that earlier described with theexception that it is a four-legged support configuration system. Thetower base section includes a pair of spaced pivotally mounted supportlegs 120 and 122 and a pair of strut members 123 and 124 which areselectively fixed to mounting lugs as at 125 and 126. Four mounting pads128, 130, 132 and 134 are also provided. The legs 120 and 122 arepivotally mounted in the same fashion as legs 20 and 22 previouslydescribed with regard to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b in pivot lugs 136 and 138,respectively. The upper tower section 114 is designed to pivot on shaft140 utilizing pillow block bearings 142 and 144 connected to legs 120and 122 as has been previously described with regard to the embodimentof FIGS. 1 a and 1 b. Thus, the upper tower section includes pivotinglegs 146 and 148 and is leveraged by extended free legs 150 and 152, thefree leg 150 being designed to selectively connect to free strut 123 andthe free leg 152 being designed to selectively connect to free leg 124when the tower 110 is fully deployed. A winch and pulley system is shownat 154. Horizontal and cross bracing is also shown at 156 and 158,respectively. In this embodiment, the winch is generally located on aseparate pad 160 in the center between the pads 132 and 134 where thesecuring mounts are located. Thus, it can be seen that the number ofsupport points can be varied with respect to the collapsible, tilt-upsupport tower assembly of the invention while remaining well within thescope of the inventive concepts.

Another embodiment of a support tower in accordance with the inventionis depicted in FIGS. 8 a-8 f and 9-12. This embodiment, illustratedgenerally by 200, also includes a lower or tower base section 202 and apivotally connected upper tower or boom section 204 connected at pivotpoints by bearing assemblies, including a pair of pillow block bearings208 and 210 with associated shafts 212 and 214. One of the pillow blocksis shown in greater detail in FIG. 11, including top cap and lowerbearing base sections 216 and 218, respectively, held together bythreaded fasteners 220. The bearing base section 218 is fixed to the topof the lower tower section 202. The various stages of deployment and useare depicted in FIGS. 8 a-8 f and the enlarged fragmentary view of FIG.9.

FIG. 8 a depicts the tower 200 in a fully lowered or initial assemblyposition. The base tower section is connected to a foundation at one ormore base pivot connections as at 230 using pivot lugs and shafts in themanner of earlier described embodiments. The base tower section is alsoprovided with a folding (hinged) or removable leverage strut 232 toprovide additional leverage to aid in the pivoting operation making itan easy low-power lift. A lifting cable 234 is connected between thefree or top end of the base tower section at 236 and a winch or otherforce applying device at 238, and using the leverage strut connected at240.

FIG. 8 b represents an initial phase of erecting the base which iscontinued in FIGS. 8 c-8 d. The enlarged fragmentary view of FIG. 9shows the pivoting and fastening scheme of the base tower section andupper tower section in greater detail. The base tower 202 is fixed to amounting flange device in the form of a base plate or platform 242 whichhas a series of openings which align with a series of foundation boltsas at 244 used to fix the base tower section to platform.

As seen in FIG. 8 e, with the base tower section fully erected, theupper tower or boom section is yet to be raised. As was the case withpreviously described embodiments, the upper tower or boom section ispivotally leveraged about the bearings as at 210 and is raised using asecond cable 250 attached at one end to the lower end or tail section248 of the boom 204 and to a winch or the like at 254 which may be adifferent device from the force applying device 238. A pair of idlersprockets or pulleys 256 and 258 are provided to route the cablesthrough the base 202. As shown in the top, partial section view of FIG.12, the tower base section 202 has an open side to accommodate the tailsection 248 which nests therein with the upper tower section or beam 204fully raised or fully lowered. The pivot line of the upper tower section204, indicated by 260, is offset somewhat toward the open side of thetower base section such that the distance b<a to bias the upper towersection toward tipping to facilitate lowering of the upper tower sectionto a height for servicing, without the need for outside forces toinitiate tipping, as shown in FIG. 8 e, but without the need for atruncated or leaning structure in the manner of previously describedembodiments.

The tower is shown fully deployed with cables attached in FIG. 8 f. Oncethe tower is fully raised, as illustrated in FIG. 10, a device forretaining or latching the upper tower section or boom in place, such asa saddle strap 270 retained as by a bolt and nut fastener at 272 may beused. Release of the saddle strap allows the upper tower section topivot by playing out the cable 250 to lower the upper tower section asdesired so that the lowering and raising of the upper tower section maybe accomplished easily in the manner of previously describedembodiments. The leverage strut 232 may be folded against the tower orremoved when the tower base section 202 is fixed in place.

This invention has been described herein in considerable detail in orderto comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in theart with the information needed to apply the novel principles and toconstruct and use embodiments of the example as required. However, it isto be understood that the invention can be carried out by specificallydifferent devices and that various modifications can be accomplishedwithout departing from the scope of the invention itself.

1. A collapsible tilt-up support tower assembly for supporting anelevated device comprising: (a) a pivoting tower base section having atleast three-point support including at least one a free strut supportand at least a pair of base section pivoting support legs having freeupper ends and lower ends designed to be received in and pivotallyattached to spaced pivotal mounts; (b) an upper tower section designedto attach to and pivot about a pivot shaft connected with said freeupper ends of said base section pivoting support legs, said pivotfunction being between an upright, raised position and a loweredposition; (c) an operating mechanism for selectively controlling thepivoting of said tower base section and said upper tower section betweenan upright, raised position and a lowered position; and (d) latchingsystems for selectively fixing said upper tower to said tower basesection and said free strut support of said tower base section to afixed mount to secure the tower assembly in said upright raisedposition.
 2. A support tower as in claim 1 further comprising: (e) amounting base system comprising at least three spaced points of supportfor receiving said pair of base section pivoting support legs and saidat least one strut support including a pair of spaced pivotal mounts andat least one fixed mount spaced from said pivotal mounts.
 3. A supporttower as in claim 1 wherein said operating mechanism further comprises awinch and cable system.
 4. A support tower as in claim 1 wherein saidupper tower section has an offset center of balance such that it willpivot to a lowered position if not retained in place.
 5. A support toweras in claim 3 wherein said operating mechanism includes pulleys.
 6. Asupport tower as in claim 1 having four point support wherein said freestrut support of said base section comprises a pair of struts attachedto said pivoting support legs.
 7. A support tower as in claim 1 whereinsaid upper tower section includes an extended aspect which complimentsthe tower base section and provides an extended lever arm for pivotingsaid upper tower section.
 8. A support tower as in claim 7 wherein saidupper tower section latches to said tower base section near the bottomthereof.
 9. A support tower as in claim 2 wherein said pivotal mounts insaid mounting base system include spaced lugs and shafts.
 10. Acollapsible tilt-up support tower assembly for supporting an elevateddevice comprising: (a) a mounting base system comprising at least threespaced points of support for receiving at least three support legs andincluding a pair of spaced pivotal mounts and at least one fixed mountspaced from said pivotal mounts; (b) a pivoting tower base sectionhaving at least three support legs including at least one free leg and apair of base section pivoting support legs having free upper ends andlower ends designed to be received in and pivotally attached to saidpair of spaced pivotal mounts near the lower ends thereof; (c) an uppertower section designed to attach to and pivot about a pivot shaftpivotally connected with said free upper ends of said base sectionpivoting support legs of said base section between an upright raisedposition and a lowered service position, said upper tower sectionincluding an extended aspect for leveraging the pivoting of said uppertower section and connecting to said tower base section; (d) a winchingmechanism for selectively controlling the pivoting of said tower basesection and said upper tower section between an upright raised positionand a lowered service position; and (e) latching systems for selectivelyfixing said upper tower to said tower base section and said at least onefree leg of said tower base section to said fixed mount to secure thetower assembly in said upright raised position.
 11. A collapsibletilt-up support tower assembly for supporting an elevated devicecomprising: (a) a pivoting tower base section having three-point supportincluding a free strut support and a pair of base section pivotingsupport legs having free upper ends and lower ends designed to bereceived in and pivotally attached to spaced pivotal mounts; (b) anupper tower section designed to attach to and pivot about an elevatedpivot shaft pivotally connected with said free upper ends of said basesection pivoting support legs, said pivot function being between anupright, raised position and a lowered position; (c) an operatingmechanism for selectively controlling the pivoting of said tower basesection and said upper tower section between an upright, raised positionand a lowered position; and (d) latching systems for selectively fixingsaid upper tower to said tower base section and said free strut supportof said tower base section to a fixed mount to secure the tower assemblyin said upright raised position.
 12. A support tower as in claim 11further comprising: (e) a mounting base system comprising three spacedpoints of support for receiving said pair of base section pivotingsupport legs and said strut support including a pair of spaced pivotalmounts and a fixed mount spaced from said pivotal mounts.
 13. A supporttower as in claim 11 wherein said operating mechanism further comprisesa winch and cable system.
 14. A support tower as in claim 11 whereinsaid upper tower section has an offset center of balance such that itwill pivot to a lowered position if not retained in place.
 15. A supporttower as in claim 13 wherein said operating mechanism includes pulleys.16. A support tower as in claim 11 having three point support whereinsaid free strut support of said base section comprises a pair ofconverging struts attached to said pivoting support legs.
 17. A supporttower as in claim 11 wherein said upper tower section includes anextended aspect which compliments the tower base section and provides anextended lever arm for pivoting said upper tower section.
 18. A supporttower as in claim 17 wherein said upper tower section latches to saidtower base section near the bottom thereof.
 19. A support tower as inclaim 12 wherein said pivotal mounts in said mounting base systeminclude spaced lugs and shafts.
 20. A collapsible tilt-up support towerassembly for supporting an elevated device comprising: (a) a mountingbase system comprising three spaced points of support for receivingthree support legs and including a pair of spaced pivotal mounts and onefixed mount spaced from said pivotal mounts; (b) a pivoting tower basesection having three support legs including at least one free leg and apair of base section pivoting support legs having free upper ends andlower ends designed to be received in and pivotally attached to saidpair of spaced pivotal mounts near the lower ends thereof; (c) an uppertower section designed to attach to and pivot about a pivot shaftconnected to said free upper ends of said pivoting support legs of saidbase section between an upright raised position and a lowered position,said upper tower section having an extended aspect for leveraging thepivoting thereof; (d) at least one winching mechanism for selectivelycontrolling the pivoting of said tower base section and said upper towersection between an upright raised position and a lowered position; and(e) latching systems for selectively fixing said extended aspect of saidupper tower to said tower base section and said free leg of said towerbase section to said fixed mount to secure the tower assembly in saidupright raised position.
 21. A collapsible tilt-up support towerassembly for supporting an elevated device comprising: (a) a pivotingtower base section having a free upper end and a lower end designed tobe received in and pivotally attached to one or more pivotal mounts; (b)an upper tower section designed to attach to and pivot in relation tosaid upper end of said base section, said pivot function being betweenan upright, raised position and a lowered position; (c) one or moreoperating mechanisms for selectively controlling the pivoting of saidtower base section and said upper tower section between an upright,raised position and a lowered position; and (d) latching systems forselectively fixing said upper tower to said tower base section and saidtower base section to a fixed mount to secure the tower assembly in saidupright raised position.
 22. A support tower as in claim 21 wherein saidfixed mount further comprises: (e) a mounting base system for said towercomprising a support base for receiving and supporting the said towerbase section including a pair of spaced pivotal mounts and at least onefixed mounting device spaced from said pivotal mounts to fix said towerbase section in an upright disposition.
 23. A support tower as in claim21 wherein said operating mechanism further comprises at least one winchand cable system.
 24. A support tower as in claim 21 wherein said uppertower section comprises an offset pivot mounting such that it will pivotto a lowered position if not retained in place.
 25. A support tower asin claim 23 wherein said operating mechanism includes pulleys.
 26. Asupport tower as in claim 21 wherein said tower base section comprises aleverage strut attached thereto to aid said operating mechanism.
 27. Asupport tower as in claim 26 wherein said leverage strut is mounted topivot out of the way when not in use.
 28. A support tower as in claim 21wherein said upper tower section includes an extended aspect whichcompliments the tower base section and provides an extended lever armfor pivoting said upper tower section.
 29. A support tower as in claim28 further comprising a latching system for fixing said upper towersection to said tower base section near the bottom thereof when saidupper tower section is fully raised.
 30. A support tower as in claim 29wherein said latching system further comprises a saddle strap and boltarrangement.
 31. A support tower as in claim 24 wherein said upper towersection pivots on bearing mounts offset from the centerline thereof. 32.A support tower as in claim 31 wherein said upper tower section bearingmounts include pillow blocks mounted on top of said tower base section.33. A support tower as in claim 21 comprising a plurality of fixedmounting devices to fix said tower base section in an uprightdisposition.
 34. A support tower as in claim 22 comprising a pluralityof fixed mounting devices.
 35. A support tower as in claim 21 whereinsaid tower base section is provided with an open side and wherein saidupper tower section has a leveraging tail segment which is accommodatedwithin said base section when said upper tower section is raised.